“I’ve been away from the circuit for the last two years and it's always tough to get back on a larger stage,” Zvonareva told Tashkent Open’s Sunder Iyer.

“I would like to thank the Tashkent Open for giving me a wildcard to play the qualifiers - it's a great opportunity for me to play some really talented players and hopefully I'll be able to get my rhythm too."

Up next, the two-time Grand Slam finalist will take on Pauline Parmentier after the Frenchwoman eased past Risa Ozaki 6-2, 6-4.

“I already feel comfortable with courts and playing well,” Vondrousova said. “I’m happy to have made a good start.”

It wasn’t a good day for the hometown hopefuls looking to make a deep run at the 19th edition of the Tashkent Open, staged at Tashkent’s Olympic Tennis School. A pair of local wildcards, Akgul Amanmuradova and Sabina Sharipova, both fell in straight sets in their opening matches; Kateryna Kozlova dropped just one game against Amanmuradova 6-1, 6-0, while Stefanie Voegele dismissed Sharipova 6-1, 6-3.